Candiace Dillard Bassett Says Her Mecca Mindset Fuels Every Move From Potomac To Plays

When Candiace Dillard Bassett looks back on her time at Howard University, she doesn’t mince words: it shaped everything.

“Howard taught me how to move confidently in every space,” she told OffTheYard. “It was the first place I really felt the power of being surrounded by excellence that looked like me.”

As a broadcast journalism major with a minor in African American studies, the Bravolebrity/songstress soaked up the culture of the Mecca — the traditions, the professors, the peers who later became collaborators. One of those classmates, playwright Dennis Williams, is now the creative force behind I’ve Cried the Blues, the stage production that marks Bassett’s theatrical debut.

Set in the Jim Crow South, the play tells a story of resilience, faith, and survival through music. Bassett stars as Miss Lilly, an ambitious nightclub singer determined to become the first female headliner at the King Biscuit Times. “This is a full-circle Howard moment for me,” she said. “To bring a story like this to life with someone I went to school with — and to do it at this point in my life — feels like a blessing.”

For Bassett, Howard was a training ground. “Howard instills in you a sense of responsibility — that you’re not just working for yourself, you’re representing a legacy,” she explained. “It’s why I push myself in every lane I step into.”

And those lanes are plenty. The former Miss United States and Obama White House staffer has carved out a multifaceted career: starring on The Real Housewives of Potomac, releasing two Billboard-charting R&B projects, landing roles on BET and Netflix, and building her brand as an entrepreneur. In just the past year, she’s signed with UnitedMasters, released her single “How Do You Live?,” and prepped a holiday track for release.

But it’s Howard’s emphasis on community that resonates most with her today as a new mom. Her son, Jet, turns one this month. “Parenthood was never meant to be done alone,” she told OffTheYard. “That’s a lesson I learned at Howard, too — it’s always about the village. My classmates, my professors, the community there — they’ve been part of my village from day one.”

It’s why Bassett is always eager to pass wisdom along to current students. “Go confidently in the direction of your dream and live the life you have imagined,” she said. “That’s how I’ve lived my life since stepping foot on the Yard.”

With a stage debut, new music on the horizon, and even a role in the upcoming season of NBC’s The Traitors, Bassett continues to carry the Howard blueprint wherever she goes.

“Everything I do — whether it’s on stage, on camera, or as a mom — is about showing up fully and unapologetically,” she said. “That’s Howard through and through.”